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[Draugoth]

Edit: Title updated to reflect what the article is actually based on.

Square Enix has insisted sales of Final Fantasy 16 are “extremely strong”, telling IGN the game has sold well relative to the PlayStation 5 install base.

The PS5 exclusive sold three million copies during launch week, a figure that sparked a debate online about whether it had met Square Enix’s sales targets.

With 38 million PS5 consoles shipped globally (as of March 31, 2023), sales of Final Fantasy 16 surpassed three million units worldwide several days after its release on June 22, 2023 Taking into consideration the sales figures of the acclaimed Final Fantasy 7 Remake and the difference in size of the install base of the PlayStation 4 at the time of this title’s release, we can see that the attach rate of Final Fantasy 16 is considerably high, given the PS5 install base. Square Enix considers the initial sales results of Final Fantasy 16 to be extremely strong, and we will continue to carry out a wide range of initiatives to encourage even more people to play the game.”

• IGN sources familiar with the performance of Final Fantasy 16 confirmed sales had slowed considerably since launch but that the game was not yet considered the disaster some claimed it to be. One source pointed to recent comments from producer Naoki Yoshida that DLC may be on the horizon, and thus further investment in development time, as a key indicator Final Fantasy 16 may have legs.

 

[Guilty_AI]

 

[X-Wing]

Shocking. Sales slowing after launch, who would have imagined?

 

[Punished Miku]

I'm really not sure if I will get it. The demo might have been enough for me, personally. I'll probably cave when it's on a deep discount.

 

[DeepEnigma]

It's literally right in the article, but that doesn't make for catchy headlines.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake and the difference in size of the install base of the PlayStation 4 at the time of this title’s release, we can see that the attach rate of Final Fantasy 16 is considerably high, given the PS5 install base. Square Enix considers the initial sales results of Final Fantasy 16 to be extremely strong,

 

[Ansphn]

Doesn't this happen with every game? Why focus on this one? Let me guess, PlayStation exclusive. Sony needs to buy up Square to shut these vultures up.

 

[blackjon24]

Square enix themselves says they are happy with the sales and this is the title you want to go with? lol ok

 

[swaffles23]

The weirdos that want 16 to be a failure are in shambles

 

[feynoob]

So that 3m first week included preorders.
Guess Imran Khan was right once again.

Lower sales doesn't mean the game is failure.

Square got Sony money and 3m+ worth of sales. That is alot of money for them.

 

[Cornbread78]

Shocking. Sales slowing after launch, who would have imagined?

 

[Captain Toad]

Great. Fantastic game.

 

[FalsettoVibe]

Just tell me when I am getting DLC SE....

 

[LordCBH]

Square: “we are extremely pleased!”
Weirdos: “iT’s A fAiLuRe!!1!”

 

[Draugoth]

Square: “we are extremely pleased!”
Weirdos: “iT’s A fAiLuRe!!1!”

If it doesnt sell 20m copies it's a failure nowdays

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Some people are so invested in this game failing... as if their life's fulfillment depends on this game tanking as retribution for its PS-exclusivity.

What's even more absurd is that these same folks don't seem to grasp that previous Japanese, and SQE games in particular, game sales on Xbox have been so bad historically that launching on the XSX/SS wouldn't have made a blind bit of difference. As if selling the addition of 14 more copies on Xbox would be the make-or-break factor for determining the success of the game against SQE's internal sales projections.

Anyway, the game is selling very well. It's continuing to chart globally and SQE is happy with it.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

It's literally right in the article, but that doesn't make for catchy headlines.

I don't buy that install base argument. The PS5 is ~40 million units sold. Plenty of games have sold extremely well when the console they were attached to had less the 40m sold. Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, God of War 2018, Horizon Zero Dawn etc...

Final Fantasy is losing relevance but it still has a medium size die hard fan base. That franchise needs a (real) refresh.

 

[oji-san]

I will buy don't worry! Make a sale and i buy!

 

[SantaC]

Now release it for steam

 

[DeepEnigma]

I don't buy that install base argument. The PS5 is ~40 million units sold. Plenty of games have sold extremely well when the console they were attached to had less the 40m sold. Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, God of War 2018, Horizon Zero Dawn etc...

Final Fantasy is losing relevance but it still has a medium size die hard fan base. That franchise needs a (real) refresh.

Ok.

Installed base is relative to their own franchise. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[ChiefDada]

Edit: Title updated to reflect what the article is actually based on.

 

[Madflavor]

That's not out of the ordinary for a JRPG (if you can call it that), and we also already knew this. I don't understand why FFXVI has been so targeted lately with it's sales. RE4R sold about the same amount during it's launch week, and there wasn't a peep about whether it was a flop or not, and that was on a MUCH bigger install base since it launched on 5 different platforms.

 

[KingT731]

I don't buy that install base argument. The PS5 is ~40 million units sold. Plenty of games have sold extremely well when the console they were attached to had less the 40m sold. Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, God of War 2018, Horizon Zero Dawn etc...

Final Fantasy is losing relevance but it still has a medium size die hard fan base. That franchise needs a (real) refresh.

Uhhh....when GOW 2018 launched the PS4 was near 80M and when Horizon launched the PS4 was nearly 60M....

 

[Draugoth]

The weirdos that want 16 to be a failure are in shambles

I want it on PC.

 

[jroc74]

But Final Floptansy 16 tho....

Some ppl need to have several seats. Its doing well.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Uhhh....when GOW 2018 launched the PS4 was near 80M and when Horizon launched the PS4 was nearly 60M....

And they're comparing lifetime sales for years and years to a game that is a month old. The mental gymnastics over this one game is a wild phenomenon.

Just like the intellectually dishonest comparison of TLoU2 when it was barely a year old, to a 8-10 year old TLoU when it had 3 iterations in that time and almost a decade of sales tally.

But hey, I thought the sub loving crew didn't care about sales?

 

[Disco Dave]

Honestly, I don't understand how IGN remains so popular. Good games get slammed by piss poor reviewers and news articles are rushed click bait at best. Their YouTube videos are some of the most pretentious shite I've witnessed since Edge magazine.

Go on IGN, give me another "10 things you (probably) didn't know about Zelda BOTW". I love clicking through 30 pages of filler with videos that play randomly somewhere on the fucking page.

 

[Captain Toad]

Final Fantasy is losing relevance but it still has a medium size die hard fan base. That franchise needs a (real) refresh.

I can't think of a franchise where this statement is less true. Final Fantasy reinvents the formula every entry.

 

[Astray]

Ultimately we will hear the final word on this during Square's next earnings call, but I'm leaning towards this being a financial success.

The dev cycle of the game wasn't a dev hell type of thing, and it seems that Yoshi P kept costs relatively contained.

This plus the guaranteed exclusivity money and dev support from Sony might mean that this game has a lower sales bar to clear compared to XV (whose development took a decade and many pivots).

 

[ChiefDada]

So that 3m first week included preorders.
Guess Imran Khan was right once again.

Lower sales doesn't mean the game is failure.

Square got Sony money and 3m+ worth of sales. That is alot of money for them.

Why wouldn't it?

I don't buy that install base argument. The PS5 is ~40 million units sold. Plenty of games have sold extremely well when the console they were attached to had less the 40m sold. Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, God of War 2018, Horizon Zero Dawn etc...

Final Fantasy is losing relevance but it still has a medium size die hard fan base. That franchise needs a (real) refresh.

 

[Zathalus]

Relative to the install base? FF15 sold 5 million in one day with a install base of around 70 million (although likely 80% on PS4, so 4 million first day on a install base of 47 million), FF16 sold 3 million in one week with a install base of 40 million.

So it certainly appears to be a sales drop compared to the previous entry, although still very much a sales success (although perhaps not as much as what Square hoped for).

 

[Deerock71]

I don't care either way, but I know gaslighting when I see it.

Squeenix:

 

[UltimaKilo]

I don’t understand the hate from people like OP. Why do you want it to fail? Seems like it’s doing well.

There are concerns given SE’s finances, but this is good news on a game that has yet to release on PC or Xbox…

 

[Captain Toad]

So that 3m first week included preorders.
Guess Imran Khan was right once again.

What an odd statement.

Might as well say, "those total sales also include copies sold at Wal-Mart. I knew it!"

 

[MagiusNecros]

FF15- 5m
FF7R- 3.5m
FF16- 3m

Brand is diminishing over time. Primarily FF13 and FF15's fault.

Honorable mention goes to Tomb Raider 2013 where Square stated 3.4m opening sales was a failure because it wasn't 6m.

 

[balls of snow]

Good on xvi, hope cbu 3 gets a go at xvii as well.
Game has vibes, and im just taking it all in until baldurs gate 3 launches.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Uhhh....when GOW 2018 launched the PS4 was near 80M and when Horizon launched the PS4 was nearly 60M....

Alright, I messed up a bit with the God of War 2018 comparison. Still...

Horizon Zero Dawn was release in early 2017 when the user base was under 60M.
Uncharted 4 was released in early 2016 when the user base was close to 40M.
Infamous Second Son was released in early 2014 when the user base was closer to 15M.

All of those games seem to have performed significantly better, relative to their console user base, than FFXVI.

There are too many examples of games doing exceptionally well when the console they're attached to is under 40M. Final Fantasy has slowly been melting for a while now. It doesn't have the wide appeal it once did. That shouldn't be a controversial statement.

The reason why the install base argument is flawed, is because the most hardcore, lucrative gamers buy these consoles first. The first 40 million PS5 sales are not the same as the last 40 million PS5 sales. The later group is generally a more casual audience.

 

[DeepEnigma]

FF15- 5m
FF7R- 3.5m
FF16- 3m

Brand is diminishing over time. Primarily FF13 and FF15's fault.

Honorable mention goes to Tomb Raider 2013 where Square stated 3.4m opening sales was a failure because it wasn't 6m.

FF15 launched on two consoles in 2016 with larger install bases combined.

FF7R was called a huge success on a system in 2020 and for contrast, here are some of the biggest games sold as well with those numbers,

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is a huge success with 3.5 million sales

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is a huge commercial hit with 3.5 million shipments and digital sales, but it was hamstringed by COVID-19 and retail shortages.

www.tweaktown.com

Spider-Man - 3.3 million (3 days)
God of War - 3.1 million (3 days)
Uncharted 4 - 2.7 million (2 weeks)
Horizon Zero Dawn - 2.6 million (2 weeks)

So much disingenuous framing.

 

[feynoob]

.

 

[Punished Miku]

FF15- 5m
FF7R- 3.5m
FF16- 3m

Brand is diminishing over time. Primarily FF13 and FF15's fault.

Honorable mention goes to Tomb Raider 2013 where Square stated 3.4m opening sales was a failure because it wasn't 6m.

"Primarily?" That's sure a stretch. I think it's safe to judge this game on its own merits. I think it really comes down to marketing. XIII and XV both had phenomenal marketing, and shockingly original art design that captured people's imaginations. There was buzz for both games. Insane amounts of buzz.

 

[The Last One]

So glad I contributed to Imran’s Patreon

 

[Roxkis_ii]

Guys, I don't know why your paying attention to facts and statements from the studio that made the game. The discord said its a bad game that didn't sell, and no amount of factual information is going to change that!

 

[Tomeru]

If it doesnt sell 20m copies it's a failure nowdays

Unless its on gamepass, which makes it calculated.

 

[touchfuzzy]

FF15- 5m
FF7R- 3.5m
FF16- 3m

Brand is diminishing over time. Primarily FF13 and FF15's fault.

Honorable mention goes to Tomb Raider 2013 where Square stated 3.4m opening sales was a failure because it wasn't 6m.

XVII will do worse again, whenever it comes. I'm a series fan and XVI was another disappointment and will be the last time I go in on launch day / full price for an FF game, unless it's a honest to goodness back to basics turn / ATB based game like I through X (which I seriously doubt).

 

[MikeM]

Waiting for that PC release. No way i’m playing that joke of a 60fps mode.

 

[LakeOf9]

Yeah I believe it, not sure why some people want this to flop so badly (I mean I do but still)

 

[skit_data]

It's been a while since I last heard of Square Enix considering sales anything but "below expected". Them saying this says something about how well this game has sold.

 

[fart town usa]

I hope it turns a profit. People following along know I've been really critical of the game but I don't want Square to fail or anything like that.

 

[TheTony316]

Install Base having a meltdown in 3...2...1....

Probably. Installbase is a Nintendo forum disguissed as a sales forum

 

[MagiusNecros]

So much disingenuous framing.

I'm judging based on Final Fantasy the franchise. Not how many platforms it's on. Platform, install base all mean nothing to me.

Over time the brand continues to dilute.

There was a lot of hype surrounding XIII and ended up not being so great, likewise with 15 being what it was. And now FFXVI being an ok action game but a bad FF game with very poor design decisions.

I'm sorry if your feelings are hurt but when I see diminishing opening sales mainline entry after mainline entry it don't look good chief.

 

[Madflavor]

I'm judging based on Final Fantasy the franchise. Not how many platforms it's on. Platform, install base all mean nothing to me.

Over time the brand continues to dilute.

There was a lot of hype surrounding XIII and ended up not being so great, likewise with 15 being what it was. And now FFXVI being an ok action game but a bad FF game with very poor design decisions.

I'm sorry if your feelings are hurt but when I see diminishing opening sales mainline entry after mainline entry it don't look good chief.

For now I'm waiting to see how FFVII:Rebirth will do, and the next real update on FFXVI sales data (as in actual sales numbers) before drawing conclusions. FFVII:Remake had the ending controversy, but for the most part was very well received. We'll see if that positive reception will carry over to good sales for Rebirth.